Method and apparatus for airway compensation control
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsGary J. Choncholas, Ronald L. Tobia
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Abstract
A method for controlling a mechanical ventilator that is supplying medical gas to a patient via an endotracheal tube. A pressure is measured from a patient end of an endotracheal tube. The pressure at the patient end of the endotracheal tube is used to create an improved endotracheal tube resistance model such that the medical gas supplied by the mechanical ventilator may be compensated for the resistance of the endotracheal tube thereby providing increased control over the medical gas that is delivered to the patient's lungs. Additionally, if an obstruction in the patient's airway is detected, the location of the obstruction may be targeted such that the proper remedial treatment or procedure is selected by a clinician.
Claims27
A method for determining the resistance of an endotracheal tube that is connected to a mechanical ventilator for providing respiratory support to a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a first pressure from the ventilator end of the endotracheal tube;
- measuring a second pressure from the patient end of the endotracheal tube;
- obtaining the flow rate into the endotracheal tube;
- and
- deriving the endotracheal tube resistance from the obtained first pressure and flow rate and the measured second pressure.
A method of providing airway compensation control to improve the mechanical ventilation of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
- delivering medical gas to the patient through an endotracheal tube having a patient end and a ventilator end according to a pressure waveform;
- measuring a first pressure at the patient end of the endotracheal tube;
- obtaining a second pressure at the ventilator end of the endotracheal tube;
- monitoring the differential pressure between the first and second pressures;
- and
- compensating the pressure waveform in an amount based upon the detected differential pressure.
A ventilator for providing respiratory therapy to a patient comprising:
- a mechanical ventilator disposed to be pneumatically connected via an endotracheal tube to the airway of a patient the mechanical ventilator comprising a first controller, the first controller being programmed to control at least one medical gas to be delivered to the patient;
- a ventilator control unit connected to the first controller, such that the ventilator control unit can communicate with the first controller;
- and
- a CPU connected to the ventilator control unit, the CPU being programmed to receive pressure data and flow data;
- the CPU being further programmed to compute a resistance from the pressure data and flow data;
- and the CPU being further programmed to send a control signal to the first controller, the control signal being responsive to a computed resistance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.